The Faithful Couple

The Faithful Couple

Keith Knight

I recently read the account of a family that was on vacation years ago in Yosemite National Park. They were fascinated and awed by the magnificent redwood trees. God’s creative hand and majestic beauty was breathtaking. As they walked among the forest giants, they came to what appeared to be a huge redwood tree about forty feet in diameter. The sign at the base of the tree read, "The Faithful Couple." But they were puzzled because it appeared as though this was a single tree, not a “Couple of Trees.”

As the family was enjoying their vacation time throughout the week, they encountered a park ranger and they asked about “The Faithful Couple.” He went on to explain that almost fifteen hundred years ago, two trees had sprouted as seedlings. The two trees that began on the forest ground were approximately fifteen feet apart initially. And for several hundred years, the two trees had grown individually. But as the years passed and the trees got larger, their trunks grew closer and closer together. Then sometime around the age of eight hundred years, the trunks literally touched, and the trees began fusing together as one. The trees uniting together as one have withstood the centuries—thereby giving them the title of “The Faithful Couple.”

Jesus spoke about two different foundations for a life. His statements are equally applicable to a couple building a home together.

In Luke 6:46-49 Jesus said, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Jesus was talking about the need to build your spiritual house on solid stuff and the way to support your life through increasing obedience to God and His Word. When you build your house on that Rock, you can withstand the cultural storms and the "currents" of your selfishness and shortcomings.

Marriage first and foremost is a spiritual relationship. God’s design is for two people, male and female, to connect individually to God, walking with Him, obeying Him in the Word, praying as individuals and also as a couple. By applying this principle, married couples will be able to withstand the floodwaters of challenges and struggles that exist in relationships, because they stand firm in their commitment. “The Faithful Couple” has a firm foundation built on a solid rock.